Package with lock mechanism

ABSTRACT

A package with lock mechanism has: a package body to be slidably inserted into a cage and to be releasably locked by the cage; a slide member that is slidably attached to the package body, the slide member allowing the package body to be released from the locking by the cage when the slide member is slid to a predetermined position; and an operation lever that is rotatably attached to the package body. The operation lever allows the slide member to slide to the predetermined position while engaging to the slide member.

The present Application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/759,528 filed on Jan. 20, 2004 U.S. Pat. No.6,945,809.

The present application is based on Japanese patent application Nos.2003-12678 and 2003-357871, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an optical communication package such asoptical transmitter and receiver modules and, particularly, to anoptical communication package with lock mechanism detachable to a cage.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being attached to a communicationdevice 41 (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,918 B1). The package 40 is disposedbetween an optical fiber (not shown) and the communication device 41 tosend optical signal received form the optical fiber to the communicationdevice 41 while converting it into electrical signal, or to sendelectrical signal received from the communication device 41 to theoptical fiber while converting it into optical signal. The package 40has a socket 5 to allow the optical fiber to be detachably connectedthereto and is detachable to the communication device 41 in order toaddress a case that internal optical and electrical elements has aproblem or a case that its communication specifications (opticalwavelength, modulation method etc.) are required to conform to those ofthe other party.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being locked in a cage 2. Thepackage 40 is detachably inserted into the cage 2 mounted on a board 42in the communication device 41 and is releasably locked by the cage 2.The cage 2 is shaped like a long box extended backward and forward andhas an opening at one end (front end), such that the package 40 can beinserted or extracted through the front end. The cage 2 has nails 6 onboth sides so as to engage with the internally-inserted package 40 torestrict the movement of package 40 in the extraction direction. Thenails 6 are formed like a leaf spring that protrudes inside the cage 2at the sides and extends backward.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being extracted from the cage 2.FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing part of the package 40 inFIG. 3. FIG. 5 is an enlarged partially sectioned perspective viewshowing a locking portion 43 of the package 40 in state of being lockedby a nail 6 of the cage 2. FIG. 6 is an enlarged partially sectionedperspective view showing the locking portion 43 in state of beingunlocked from the nail 6.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the package 40 is provided with the lockingportion 43 to be engaged with the nail 6 of cage 2 and a releasemechanism 44 to release the engagement of locking portion 43 and nail 6.The locking portion 43 corresponds to the back end face of a recess 7provided on both sides of package body 45, and contacts the free end(back end) of nail 6 being entered into the recess 7. The releasemechanism 44 is composed of a slide member 46 that is backward andforward slidably attached to the package body 45 and has a taper 12 topush out the nail 6 from the inside of recess 7. The slide member 46includes a handle 47 that is located on the front side of package body45 and extends rightward and leftward. By pulling the handle, the taper12 is slid into the recess 7. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, with thetaper 12 being slid into the recess 7, the nail 6 is put out of therecess 7.

The communication device 41, as shown in FIG. 1, has a plurality ofopenings 48 to each of which package 40 is attached, so that multipleoptical fibers can be connected thereto in clumps. Thus, the openings 48are disposed close to each other on multiple stages formed upward anddownward to house packages 40 in clumps.

Since the openings 48 of communication device 41 are disposed close toeach other and the handles 47 are closely on the front face so as not tointerfere with the connection of optical fiber in the package 40 beinglocked in the cage 2, the handle 47 is difficult to hold. Further, therelease of locking is difficult since the pulling of handle 47 meetsresistance from the nail 6.

Further, since the package 40 is drawn out due to friction when thehandle 47 is pulled, malfunction may occur in the case that the nails 6on both sides cannot be simultaneously pushed out from the recesses 7.Thus, in some cases, the handle 47 cannot be taken out easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a package with lockmechanism that can be easily taken out from a cage while ensuring therelease of locking.

According to first aspect of the invention, a package with lockmechanism comprises:

a package body to be slidably inserted into a cage and to be releasablylocked by the cage;

a slide member that is slidably attached to the package body, the slidemember allowing the package body to be released from the locking by thecage when the slide member is slid to a predetermined position; and

an operation lever that is rotatably attached to the package body;

wherein the operation lever allows the slide member to slide to thepredetermined position while engaging to the slide member.

According to second aspect of the invention, a package with lockmechanism comprises:

a package body to be releasably locked by a cage;

a release mechanism that includes an operation lever rotatably attachedto the package body, the release mechanism allowing the locking of thepackage body and the cage; and

a restriction member to control the operation lever to stop its rotationat a predetermined position;

wherein the restriction member allows the rotation of the operationlever when the restriction member receives a force exceeding apredetermined value.

According to third aspect of the invention, a package with lockmechanism comprises:

a package body to be releasably locked by a cage; and

a release mechanism that is attached to the package body, the releasemechanism enabling the release of locking of the package body and thecage;

wherein the release mechanism provides, between an operation member tobe operated in the release of locking and a follower member to be drivenby the operation member, an allowance to allow the initial movement ofthe operation member to be independent of the follower member.

According to fourth aspect of the invention, a package with lockmechanism comprises:

a package body to be slidably inserted into a cage and to be releasablylocked by the cage; and

a release mechanism that is attached to the package body, the releasemechanism enabling the release of locking of the package body and thecage;

wherein the release mechanism includes a handle to operate the releasemechanism and a handle extension attached to the handle to extend thehandle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments according to the invention will be explainedbelow referring to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being attached to the communicationdevice 41;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being locked in the cage 2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the conventional opticalcommunication package 40 in state of being extracted from the cage 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing part of the package 40 inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partially sectioned perspective view showing thelocking portion 43 of the package 40 in state of being locked by thenail 6 of the cage 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partially sectioned perspective view showing thelocking portion 43 in state of being unlocked from the nail 6;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a package 1 with lock mechanism ofthe first preferred embodiment of the invention in state of being lockedin a cage 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the package 1 while seeing throughthe cage 2 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the package 1 with a handleextension 11 being rotated upward;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the package 1 with an operationlever 9 being rotated forward;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the package 1 with the operationlever 9 being further rotated forward;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the package 1 while seeing throughthe cage 2 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the package 1 in state of beingextracted from the cage 2;

FIG. 14 is a partial enlarged view showing a release mechanism 4 and itsvicinity in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a partial enlarged view showing the operation lever 9 instate of being rotated exceeding the restriction of a restriction member17;

FIG. 16A is a side view showing the package 1 in state of being locked;

FIG. 16B is a side view showing the package 1 with the handle extension11 being rotated in state of being locked;

FIG. 16C is a side view showing the package 1 with the operation lever 9being rotated in state of being locked;

FIG. 16D is a side view showing the package 1 with the operation lever 9being further rotated in state of being released from the locking;

FIG. 16E is a side view showing the package 1 with the operation lever 9being rotated exceeding the restriction of the restriction member 17;

FIG. 17 is a partial enlarged view showing the package 1 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view showing a package 50 with lockmechanism in a second preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a partial cross sectional view showing the package 50 in FIG.18;

FIG. 20 is a partial perspective view showing the package 50 with anoperation lever 51 being disengaged;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a package 60 with lock mechanismin a third preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a side view showing the package 60 in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a partial cross sectional view showing the package 60 in FIG.22;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing the package 60 with an operationlever 61 being disengaged;

FIG. 25 is a side view showing the package 60 in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a partial enlarged view showing the package 60 in FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the package 60 in the thirdembodiment with another retention mechanism 83;

FIG. 28 is a side view showing the retention mechanism 83 in FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a side view showing the retention mechanism 83 with a pushbutton 82 being pushed backward;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a package 20 with lock mechanismin a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing the package 20 with a handleextension 33 being rotated;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the package 20 in state of beingreleased from the locking by pulling the handle extension 33;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing the package 20 in state of beingextracted from a cage 21 by pulling the handle extension 33;

FIG. 34 is a partially broken perspective view showing the package 20 inFIG. 33 while viewing it from its bottom side;

FIG. 35 is a partially cross-sectioned side view showing the package 20in FIG. 32; and

FIG. 36 is an enlarged perspective view showing the package 20 in FIG.32.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the package 1 with lock mechanism is composedof: a package body 3 that is detachably inserted into the cage 2 andreleasably locked in the cage 2; and a release mechanism 4 to releasethe locking of cage 2 and package body 3.

The package body 3 is shaped like a long rectangular solid (box)extended backward and forward in the insertion/extraction direction andhas a socket 5 at one end (front end) in the extraction direction todetachably receive an optical fiber connector (not shown). The packagebody 3 has recesses 7 formed on its both sides to receive and engage thenail 6 of cage 2.

The release mechanism 4 is composed of: a slide member 8 that isslidably attached to the package body 3 to release the locking of cage 2and package body 3 by sliding it to a predetermined position; anoperation lever 9 that is rotatably attached to the package body 3 toslide the slide member 8 to a predetermined position while engaging theslide member 8; and a handle extension 11 that is attached to a handle10 of the operation lever 9 to extend the handle 10.

The slide member 8 is of strip-shaped plate member extending backwardand forward, and it is attached slidably in the insertion/extractiondirection to the both sides of package body 3 to cross the recess 7. Theslide member 8 has a taper 12 on its back end to push out the nail 6being engaged in the recess 7. With the taper 12 being slid inside therecess 7 from the backward of recess 7, the nail 6 is put out of therecess 7 in the device width direction. Also, the slide member 8 hascontact portions 13, 14 to receive the rotation force of operation lever9 while being engaged with the operation lever 9 and thus serves as adriven part to be driven by the operation lever 9 (operation unit).

The operation lever 9 is composed of: a pair of arms 15 that are,rotatably around a shaft, attached on the front-end both sides ofpackage body 3; the handle 10 that is bridged between the arms 15; and apair of drive nails 16 that extend in the radial direction from therotation center to push the contact portions 13, 14 of slide member 8.

The arm 15 is disposed outside in the device width direction from theslide member 8 so as not to interfere with the slide member 8. Also, thearm 15 has such a predetermined length that the handle 10 is located onthe package body 3 in state of being raised up and is extended in frontof the package body 3 when the rotation front end is moved forward.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 14, the drive nail 16 is bent inside in thedevice width direction such that the rotation front end interferes withthe contact portions 13, 14 of slide member 8. The contact portion iscomposed of the first contact portion 13 that contacts the drive nail 16when rotating the operation lever 9 forward and the second contactportion 14 that contacts the drive nail 16 when rotating the operationlever 9 backward. In detail, the first contact portion 13 and secondcontact portion 14 are disposed opposite to each other while sandwichingbackward and forward the rotation front end of drive nail 16 and areformed as a side extending in the vertical direction. The first contactportion 13 and second contact portion 14 are disposed forward andbackward distant from each other such that one contacts the drive nail16 when the other is distant from the drive nail 16. An allowance(space) is provided between the operation lever 9 and slide member 8such that the operation lever 9 turns over independently of the slidemember 8 in its initial movement.

The operation lever 9 is configured such that it turns to the extractiondirection when the slide member 8 is slid to a position that allows thenail 6 of cage 2 to be put out of the recess 7.

Meanwhile, due to employing the release mechanism 4 of lever operationtype, the release mechanism 4 including operation lever 9 may be brokenor difficult to release from the cage 2 when the operation lever 9 isrotated exceeding its range of movement. In preparation for this, asshown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a restriction member 17 that controls therotation of operation lever 9 to stop at a predetermined position andallows the rotation of operation lever 9 when excessive force is inputfrom the operation lever 9 is attached to the package body 3.

The restriction member 17 of this embodiment is a projection, asstopper, provided on the slide path of slide member 8 and is, in normalposition, located in front of the slide member 8. The restriction member17 is shaped such that it indirectly restricts the rotation of operationlever 9 by restricting the forward slide of slide member 8 and that itallows the slide member 8 to climb over the projection while bendingwhen the slide member 8 is slid forward by excessive force due to rapidlever operation etc.

The release mechanism 4 is configured such that the operation lever 9 isseparated from the slide member 8 when the restriction member 17 allowsthe rotation of operation lever 9 (i.e., when the operation lever 9 isrotated beyond the restriction range of restriction member 17). Indetail, the positional relationship between the first contact portion 13and drive nail 16 is determined such that the drive nail 16 turns overdeparting from the first contact portion 13 when the operation lever 9is rotated to a predetermined position (a position where the slidemember 8 climbs over the restriction member 17).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the handle extension 11 is of a wire-likemetallic member with less weight and thinner diameter than arm 15 and isrotatably attached to the handle 10. The handle extension 11 has a shapeof rectangular frame such that it lies along the front-end circumferenceof package body 3 while being folded in the front of operation lever 9and extending downward from the handle 10 when the operation lever 9 israised up along the front-end of package body 3.

As shown in FIG. 17, a spring 18 is provided between the handle 10 andhandle extension 11 such that it energizes the handle extension 11 to befolded. It keeps folding the handle extension 11 when the operationlever 9 is operated by directly holding the handle 10 or when theoperation lever 9 is not operated. For example, the spring 18 is of acoil spring wounded around the handle extension 11, and its one end isattached to the handle 10 and the other end is attached to the handleextension 11. The spring 18 has such a minimum springy force that isrequired to fold the handle extension 11.

The functions of package 1 in this embodiment will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 16A, easier one of the handle 10 and handleextension 11 to hold with finger is pulled forward when extracting thepackage 1 being locked by the cage 2 from the cage 2.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 16B, in pulling the handle extension 11, thehandle extension 11 is rotated forward around the handle 10 of operationlever 9 until being nearly horizontally extended. Since the rotationresistance of handle extension 11 is only the weak spring 18 and thehandle extension 11 has a sufficiently reduced weight, the handleextension 11 is easy to draw.

After the handle extension 11 is extended forward, nothing interfereswith the operation of handle extension 11. Then, the handle extension 11is held further securely with finger.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 16C, when the handle extension 11 isfurther pulled, the handle 10 connecting with the handle extension 11 isdrawn forward and the operation lever 9 is thereby rotated forward. Whenthe operation lever 9 thus starts rotating from the raised-up position,the drive nail 16 is sufficiently distant from the first contact portion13. Therefore, the drive nail 16 does not push the first contact portion13 until the operation lever 9 is rotated by a predetermined angle, andthe operation lever 9 turns over during that time.

Then, when the operation lever 9 is rotated to some degree, the handleextension 11 is pulled downward while reducing the pull force gradually.As the drive nail 16 starts pushing the first contact portion 13, theslide member 8 starts sliding forward. However, since the operationlever 9 serves to restrict the forward movement of package body 3 due tothe pressing-down operation of handle extension 11, the package body 3is not extracted from the cage 2 together with the slide member 8.Therefore, malfunction such as catching in cage 2 does not occur evenwhen the release of locking, described later, is not performedsimultaneously on both sides.

Then, as shown in FIG. 12, while the slide member 8 is slid forward, thetaper 12 is entered into the recess 7 and the end of nail 6 engaging therecess 7 is pushed out in the device width direction. After the nail 6is completely put out of the recess 7, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 16D, theslide member 8 contacts the restriction member 17 and the slide thereofis restricted.

Thereby, the downward movement of handle extension 11 is alsorestricted. Then, stopping the pressing-down operation, the handleextension 11 is pulled forward. Since the locking of cage 2 and packagebody 3 is released when the nail 6 is completely put out of the recess7, the package 1 can be easily taken out from the cage 2 as shown inFIG. 13.

On the other hand, in case of pulling directly the handle 10 ofoperation lever 9, the operation lever 9 is rotated forward but, asdescribed earlier, turns over without applying force to the slide member8 in its initial movement. Therefore, the operation lever 9 can beeasily pulled out while rotating even when the operation lever 9 is heldweakly with finger. Since the handle extension 11 is kept folded, itdoes not interfere with that operation.

After the operation lever 9 is pulled out, the operation lever 9 isrotated until the rotation is restricted by the restriction member 17 asin the case of operating the handle extension 11. Then, by pulling theoperation lever 9, the package body 3 can be easily and surely taken outfrom the cage 2.

Even if the operation lever 9 is rotated being applied with excessiveforce due to operation error etc., the force is removed because theslide member 8 climbs over the restriction member 17 as shown in FIGS.15 and 16E. Thus, the operation lever 9 and slide member 8 does notdamage. Further, when the slide member 8 climbs over the restrictionmember 17, the drive nail 16 disengages from the first contact portion13 and the operation lever 9 is thereby separated from the slide member8. This can surely prevent the damage of operation lever 9 and slidemember 8. Therefore, a difficulty in extracting the package 1 from thecage 2 due to such damage does not occur.

As described above, since the package body 3 is equipped with therotatable operation lever 9 that engages the slide member 8 to slide theslide member 8 until a predetermined position, the locking releaseoperation (fold-down operation of operation lever 9) can be completelyseparated from the package body 3 extraction operation (pull-outoperation of operation lever 9). Thus, the package 1 can be taken outfrom the cage 2 while preventing malfunction in the release of locking.

The operation lever 9 turns to the package body 3 extraction directionwhen it is rotated until the slide member 8 reaches a predeterminedposition. Therefore, the package 1 can be extracted from the cage 2 bydirectly pulling the operation lever 9 in state of being rotated torelease the locking.

Since the restriction member 17 allows the rotation of operation lever 9even when receiving an excessive force from the operation lever 9, itcan prevent the damage of release mechanism 4 by removing an excessiveforce that may be applied to the operation lever 9. Thus, a difficultyin extracting the package 1 from the cage 2 due to such damage of therelease mechanism 4 can be prevented.

Further, since the operation lever 9 can be separated from the releasemechanism 4 when the restriction member 17 allows the rotation ofoperation lever 9, it can prevent the damage of the other componentscomposing the release mechanism 4 by removing an excessive force thatmay be applied to the operation lever 9.

The release mechanism 4 has the allowance (space) provided between theoperation lever 9 and slide member 8 such that the operation lever 9turns over independently of the slide member 8 in its initial movement.Therefore, the operation lever 9 can be easily pulled out while rotatingeven when the operation lever 9 is held weakly with finger.

Further, since the handle extension 11 is provided extending the handle10 to operate the release mechanism 4, the release of locking is easilyperformed by operating the handle extension 11 even when it is difficultto hold the operation lever 9 (or handle 10). Thus, the package 1 can betaken out from the cage 2.

The spring 18 is provided between the handle 10 and handle extension 11such that it energizes the handle extension 11 to be folded. It keepsfolding the handle extension 11 when the operation lever 9 is notoperated. Thus, the handle extension 11 thus folded does not disturb theother operation.

The handle 10 is provided at free end of operation lever 9 rotatablyattached to the package body 3 and the handle extension 11 is rotatablyattached to the handle 10. Therefore, the handle extension 11 can beeasily folded.

Although in this embodiment the handle extension 11 is of a wire-likemetallic member, it is not limited to that material. For example, thehandle extension 11 may be a cable such as chain and cord. The handleextension 11 may be of the other material, such as resin, than metal ifa sufficient strength can be secured.

FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view showing a package 50 with lockmechanism in the second preferred embodiment of the invention. In thisembodiment, the package 50 is provided with a return mechanism 52 toautomatically fold an operation lever 51. Like components are indicatedsame numerals used in the first embodiment and explanations thereof areomitted below.

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the return mechanism 52 is composed of: aspring 53 that is provided between a package body 59 and the operationlever 51 to energize the operation lever 51 to rotate in the directionof package body 59; and an engaging portion 54 that is formed on thepackage body 59 to retain the operation lever 51 in state of beingfolded. The operation lever 51 has the same function as the operationlever 9 and is folded along a front-end face 55 of the package body 59in state of being raised up and is extended in front of the package body59 when the rotation front end is moved forward.

The spring 53 is a coil spring wounded around a shaft 56 of theoperation lever 51, and its one end is attached to the package body 59and the other end is attached to the operation lever 51. The spring 53has such a minimum springy force that allows the operation lever 51 tobe easily rotated with finger.

The engaging portion 54 is a projection formed on the package body 59.It allows the rotation of operation lever 51 while contacting theoperation lever 51 when the operation lever 51 is rotated. The operationlever 51 is provided with an engaged portion 57 to well engage to theengaging portion 54. The engaged portion 57 is formed projecting outsideof an handle 58 bridged between the arms 15 of operation lever 51, andit restricts the rotation of operation lever 51 by contacting theengaging portion 54 when the operation lever 51 is in state of raised upand folded on the package body 59.

The functions of package 50 in this embodiment will be described below.

By pulling the operation lever 51 forward, the operation lever 51 startsrotating while allowing the engaged portion 57 to climb over theengaging portion 54. At that time, the operation lever 51 is subjectedto a pull force from the spring 53 but the pull force does not disturbthe operation of operation lever 51 since the springy force of spring 53is set sufficiently weakly. Then, as shown in FIG. 20, by rotating theoperation lever 51 until the rotation is restricted by the restrictionmember 17 and then pulling the operation lever 51 forward, the package50 can be taken out from the cage (not shown).

In case of loading the package 50 into the cage, the package 50 isinserted into the cage while keeping the operation lever 51 folded.During this process, the operation lever 51 is restricted by theengaging portion 54 in its rotation direction as well as being energizedby the spring 53 in the raised-up direction. Therefore, it does not fallforward in that process. Thus, the loading operation can be stablyperformed.

Since the spring 53 is provided between the package body 59 andoperation lever 51 to energize the operation lever 51 to rotate to thepackage body 59 side, the operation lever 51 can be stably kept foldedon the package body 59. Thus, the sudden falling of operation lever 51and a disturbance in operation caused thereby can be prevented.

Further, since the engaging portion 54 is provided on the package body59 to retain the operation lever 51 in state of being folded, theoperation lever 51 can be more stably kept folded. Thereby, the springyforce of spring 53 can be set sufficiently weakly. Therefore, the spring53 does not damage easiness in rotating the operation lever 51.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a package 60 with lock mechanismin the third preferred embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment,the package 60 is provided with an unfolding mechanism 62 to unfold anoperation lever 61 by fingertip operation. Like components are indicatedsame numerals used in the first embodiment and explanations thereof areomitted below.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the unfolding mechanism 62 is composed of:a spring 64 that is provided between a package body 63 and the operationlever 61 to energize the operation lever 61 to rotate in the unfoldeddirection; and a retention mechanism 65 that is attached to the packagebody 63 to retain the operation lever 61 against the springy force ofspring 64.

The spring 64 is a coil spring wounded around a shaft 56 of theoperation lever 61, and its one end is attached to the package body 63and the other end is attached to the operation lever 61. The spring 64has such a minimum springy force that allows the operation lever 61 tobe easily rotated with finger.

As shown in FIG. 23, the retention mechanism 65 includes a projectingmember 67 that is attached to the package body 63 flexibly in thevertical. For example, the projecting member 67 is composed of a tonguemember 68 formed on the top front-end of package body 63 and a firstprojection 69 that is formed on the tongue member 68.

The tongue member 68 is provided between slits formed in parallelextending backward from the front end of package body 63 and has itsfree end projecting forward from the package body 63. The tongue member68 can be bent downward by pressing down a press button 70 formed at thefront end of tongue member 68.

The first projection 69 is formed longitudinally in the middle of tonguemember 68 and can be moved downward to depart from the operation lever61 by bending the tongue member 68 downward. Further, the operationlever 61 is provided with a second projection 71 to well engage to thefirst projection 69. The second projection 71 is formed projectingoutside of an handle 72 bridged between the arms 15 of operation lever61, and it restricts the rotation of operation lever 61 by contactingthe first projection 69 when the operation lever 61 is in state ofraised up and folded on the package body 63.

The functions of package 60 in this embodiment will be described below.

In case of extracting the package 60 from the cage (not shown), thepress button 70 is pressed down. As the tongue member 68 is bentdownward, the first projection 69 moves downward. Thereby, the firstprojection 69 departs from the second projection 71 and the operationlever 61 rotates forward by the springy force of spring 64. As shown inFIGS. 24, 25 and 26, when the drive nail 16 contacts the first contactportion 13 of slide member 8, the operation lever 61 stops rotating.Then, by pressing down the operation lever 61, the slide member 8 can beslid forward to release the locking.

In case of loading the package 60 into the cage, the package 60 isinserted into the cage while keeping the operation lever 61 folded.During this process, the operation lever 61 is restricted by the firstprojection 69 in its rotation direction. Therefore, it does not fallforward in that process. Thus, the loading operation can be stablyperformed.

Since the spring 64 is provided between the package body 63 and theoperation lever 61 to energize the operation lever 61 to rotate in theunfolded direction and the retention mechanism 65 is attached to thepackage body 63 to retain the operation lever 61 against the springyforce of spring 64, the operation lever 61 can be easily felt forward byreleasing the operation lever 61 from the retention mechanism 65. Thus,the package 60 can be taken out of the cage.

Further, since the retention mechanism 65 includes the projecting member67 that is attached to the package body 63 flexibly in the verticaldirection, the operation lever 61 can be easily released from theretention mechanism 65.

Although in this embodiment the press button 70 is formed at the frontend of tongue member 68 and the tongue member 68 is bent downward bypressing down the press button 70, the invention is not limited to thisembodiment. For example, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, in an alternativeretention mechanism 83, a press button 82 may be formed at the front endof a tongue member 80 while bending downward the front portion 81 oftongue member 80. In this case, as shown in FIG. 29, by pressingbackward the press button 82, the tongue member 80 can be bent downward.Thus, the operation lever 61 can be easily released from the retentionmechanism 83.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a package 20 with lock mechanismin the fourth preferred embodiment of the invention in state of beingloaded into a cage 21.

As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, the cage 21 has a vertically penetratingengagement hole 23 on its bottom 22. The package body 24 of package 20has a retractable locking portion 25 projecting downward to be fittedinto the engagement hole 23 to lock the package 20. The locking portion25 is provided on one end (free end) of a leaf spring 26, the other endof which is attached to the bottom of package body 24, and can beretracted inside the package body 24 when the leaf spring 26 is bent. Aprojection 28 is provided in the middle of leaf spring 26 such that itallows the leaf spring 26 to bend inside the package body 24 when itgets on a release member 27, described below.

The release member 27 has a through hole 29 to receive the lockingportion 25 and projection 28 and a slide restriction hole 31 to receivea stopper 30 formed on the front side of package body 24 to restrict theslide range of release member 27. The release member 27 is slidably inits longitudinal direction (in the slide direction of package 20)attached on the bottom of package body 24. The release member 27 is, asshown in FIG. 30, in state of being loaded (inserted) in the packagebody 24 while allowing the locking portion 25 to protrude through thethrough hole 29 and to be inserted into the engagement hole 23, and itis, as shown in FIG. 32, in state of being extracted from the packagebody 24 while, as shown in FIG. 35, allowing the projection 28 to get onits plate portion other than the through hole 29 and allowing thelocking portion 25 to be retracted inside the package body 24.

As shown in FIGS. 30 and 35, a handle 32 is provided on the front end ofrelease member 27. A handle extension 33 to extend the handle 32 isattached to the handle 32 rotatably around the axis of handle 32 tobridge a pair of release members 27.

The handle extension 33 has a shape of rectangular frame such that itlies along the front-end circumference of package body 24 while beingraised up along the front-end of package body 24 and extended upwardfrom the handle 32 when the release member 27 is loaded in the packagebody 24.

As shown in FIG. 36, a spring 34 is provided between the handle 32 andhandle extension 33 such that it energizes the handle extension 33 to befolded. For example, the spring 34 is of a coil spring wounded aroundthe handle extension 33, and its one end is attached to the handle 32and the other end is attached to the handle extension 33. The spring 34has such a minimum springy force that is required to fold the handleextension 33.

The functions of package 20 in this embodiment will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 30, easier one of the handle 32 and handle extension 33to hold with finger is pulled forward when extracting the package 20being locked by the cage 21 from the cage 21.

As shown in FIG. 31, in pulling the handle extension 33, the handleextension 33 is rotated forward around the handle 32 of release member27 until being nearly horizontally extended. Since the rotationresistance of handle extension 33 is only the weak spring 34 and thehandle extension 33 has a sufficiently reduced weight, the handleextension 33 is easy to draw.

After the handle extension 33 is extended forward, nothing interfereswith the operation of handle extension 33. Then, the handle extension 33is held further securely with finger.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 35, when the handle extension 33 isfurther pulled, the release member 27 is drawn forward from the insideof package body 24 and the projection 28 gets on the release member 27.Thereby, the leaf spring 26 is bent turning its free end upward whileallowing the locking portion 25 to be retracted inside the package body24. Thus, the locking of cage 21 and package 20 is released.

Then, when the handle extension 33 is further pulled, the release member27 contacts the stopper 30 and is thereby made to stop the slide alongthe package body 24 and to draw the package body 24 forward. Since thelocking of package body 24 to cage 21 is now released, the package body24 can be easily taken out of the cage 21 as shown in FIG. 33.

On the other hand, in case of pulling directly the handle 32 of releasemember 27, the handle extension 33 is kept in its raised-up positioneven when it departs from the package body 24 and, therefore, it doesnot interfere with that operation.

Further, since the handle extension 33 is provided extending the handle32 of release member 27, the release of locking is easily performed byoperating the handle extension 33 even when it is difficult to hold thehandle 32. Thus, the package 20 can be taken out from the cage 21.

The handle 32 is provided at the front end of the release member 27slidably in the extraction/insertion direction attached to the packagebody 24 and the handle extension 33 is rotatably attached to the handle32. Therefore, the handle extension 33 can be easily folded along thepackage body 24.

The spring 34 is provided between the handle 32 and handle extension 33such that it energizes the handle extension 33 to be folded. It keepsfolding the handle extension 33 when the handle extension 33 is notoperated. Thus, the handle extension 33 thus folded does not disturb theother operation.

Although the invention has been described with respect to the specificembodiments for complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching hereinset forth.

1. A package with lock mechanism, comprising: a package body to beslidably inserted into a cage and to be releasably locked by the cage; aslide member that is slidably attached to the package body, the slidemember allowing the package body to be released from the locking by thecage when the slide member is slid to a predetermined position; and anoperation lever that is rotatably attached to the package body; whereinthe operation lever allows the slide member to slide to thepredetermined position while engaging to the slide member.
 2. Thepackage with lock mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: the operationlever is turned to a direction to extract the package body when theoperation lever is rotated until the slide member is slid to thepredetermined position.
 3. The package with lock mechanism according toclaim 1, further comprising: a spring that is provided between thepackage body and the operation lever, the spring energizing theoperation lever to rotate to the package body side such that theoperation lever is folded.
 4. The package with lock mechanism accordingto claim 1, wherein: the package body includes a retention member toretain the operation lever in state of being folded.
 5. The package withlock mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a spring thatis provided between the package body and the operation lever, the springenergizing the operation lever to rotate such that the operation leveris unfolded; and a retention mechanism to retain the operation lever tothe package body against the energizing force of the spring.
 6. Thepackage with lock mechanism according to claim 5, wherein: the retentionmechanism comprises a projection that is retractably attached to thepackage body.